Mission Viejo head coach Bob Johnson says team will refuse to play private schools if placed in new playoff division …

Longtime Mission Viejo head coach Bob Johnson told the Orange County Register that his team will refuse to play private schools if they’re placed in a playoff division that includes private schools under the new playoff format proposal.

The proposal will be voted on at next Wednesday’s CIF-Southern Section Council meeting. Currently, football teams are placed in playoff divisions based on league placement. The new proposal would base playoff divisions on competitive equity. That means teams from the same league could play in different playoff divisions that would be determined based on recent performance. Meaning, a team, like Mission Viejo, which has won Division 2 the past two seasons, would likely be bumped up to Division 1.

The new system would allow for upward (and downward) mobility regardless of league based on an individual school’s recent performance. Currently, the entire Moore League is placed in Division 1 based solely on the success of Long Beach Poly. The rest of the teams quite obviously belong in a much lower division. The new playoff format would allow for that.

You can expect PLENTY MORE statements like Johnson’s from coaches who oppose the proposal. But you may also hear from those who like it. If the proposal passes, it will be implemented in time for next season. Oh yeah, the proposal also applies to all other sports, too.